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GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation)
The short answer
GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) is the work of making your brand and content more likely to be included, cited and recommended in answers produced by generative AI systems. It overlaps heavily with AEO; where AEO focuses on extractable structure, GEO places extra weight on how models understand and trust your brand as an entity.
Research on generative engines has found that adding citations, statistics and quotations to content can increase its visibility in AI-generated answers, while keyword stuffing does not.
The levers
- Entity consistency — identical name, address, services and people everywhere
- Evidence — statistics, sources and specific examples in your content
- Corroboration — credible third parties describing you consistently
- First-hand expertise — original data and experience models can't find elsewhere
- Technical accessibility — content crawlers can read
GEO checklist
- Clear, direct answers to buyer questions
- Specific facts with sources, numbers and dates
- Expert quotations where relevant
- Consistent entity information across the web
- Reviews and credible third-party mentions
- Crawlable, server-rendered pages
- Regular updates to keep facts current
Research: GEO, arXiv:2311.09735. See AEO and our AEO/GEO guide.
What Google says about GEO
Google's Search Central guide on generative AI features (updated July 2026) treats GEO as part of SEO and lists practices that don't help with Google — llms.txt files, special AI markup, content "chunking", rewriting for AI and inauthentic mentions (source). For other assistants, research-backed practices such as citing sources and adding statistics remain useful.
GEO in practice
A SaaS company finds AI assistants describe its product inaccurately. It publishes clear product, pricing and comparison pages, earns coverage on credible sites and keeps information consistent. Over time, AI answers become more accurate and mention the brand more often.
Common GEO mistakes
- Chasing tricks instead of quality content
- Inconsistent business information
- Ignoring third-party mentions
Frequently asked questions
Can we pay to appear in AI answers?
Some AI products are introducing ad formats, but organic citations can't be bought. They're earned through credibility and clarity.
How long does GEO take?
It depends on how often models and their retrieval sources update. Entity and content improvements typically take months to show consistently.
Which AI systems does GEO target?
Google AI Overviews and AI Mode, ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot and other assistants that generate answers from web sources.
How is GEO measured?
By tracking citations and mentions for a set of buyer questions, and referral traffic from AI assistants.
Is GEO the same as SEO?
It builds on SEO fundamentals, with attention to how generative AI tools cite and describe brands.
How do we know if AI tools mention our brand?
Check answers for priority questions regularly and track referrals from AI tools.
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